Many people with bipolar disorder have OCD symptoms, especially under stress. I know that my OCD obsessions come from dating situations, travel and work stress that puts me under too much pressure.

What is OCD?

The initals say [...]]]> I have experienced OCD for most of my life, but I never really understood the term technically.

Many people with bipolar disorder have OCD symptoms, especially under stress. I know that my OCD obsessions come from dating situations, travel and work stress that puts me under too much pressure.

What is OCD?

The initals say it all- Obsessions that lead to compulsions that become a disorder when they affect a person’s ability to lead a ‘normal’ life.

 Obsessions are thoughts- compulsions are the actions a person does to calm the obsessions.

For example, if a person has the thoughts- “I left the stove on. I left the stove on. Oh my god I left the stove on. My house will burn down. I left the stove on. I left the stove on.”  the compulsion to calm the thoughts is to go back to the house to check that the stove is not on. Then for a minute, the person feels better and the obsessive thoughts stop. But if the person has OCD, the thoughts come back almost immediately and then the compulsion happens again.

 It’s a terrible way to end. OCD can be treated with antidepressants and talk therapy- but it’s a tough illness to treat. People with bipolar disorder usually  have OCD in episodes that are triggered by certain situations.  

 If a person with bipolar disorder has continual OCD symptoms without the mood swings, they are often diagnosed with bipolar disorder and OCD.

OCD is one of the seven classes of anxiety disorders which means it’s all about fear of what might happen.  I treat my OCD by removing the trigger than causes the OCD- such as staying away from dating. This has really helped.

If you have OCD symptoms that don’t seem to go away no matter what your mood, it’s a good idea to see a psychiatrist. Remember, people with bipolar disorder have to be very careful about taking antidepressants, so make sure you have a doctor who understands bipolar disorder as well as OCD.

Julie

Julie, is irritability a sign of hypomania? I’m also going from calm and patient to incredibly angry in minutes (seconds?). Any ideas? I do have an appointment to see my therapist today.

Answer: Oh yes, mania can cause irritation and anger. It’s called dysphoric mania. You can also [...]]]> Hi, I just received this question from Sandra:

Julie, is irritability a sign of hypomania? I’m also going from calm and patient to incredibly angry in minutes (seconds?). Any ideas? I do have an appointment to see my therapist today.

Answer: Oh yes, mania can cause irritation and anger. It’s called dysphoric mania. You can also be scattered, unable to do tasks calmly, snappy and weepy. The main problem is that it affects your sleep. If you have dysphoric mania and depression- it’s a mixed episode. If you go from mania to depression and back, it’s called rapid cycling.

 You will need to check your meds- if you’re on an antidepressant, it’s possible it is causing this- if you’ve recently had a stessful event in life, that can be the problem as well. I’ve found it’s usually medications or a trigger that starts something. Or, it can just be the darn illness. There are many meds that can cause irritation, that’s for sure!

If you go to the right of the blog, you can click on the mania tab and read a lot about the different kinds of mania. I’ve had a lot of mania the past week. It’s tough!

Julie

PS. If you’re reading this from amazon.com, you can visit www.juliefast.com/bhblog to see the blog from my server.

I doubt that is a record, but it sure wears me out. In that past week, I’ve had at least 20 mood swings. They are mild, but certainly strong enough to chart. Yesterday I had three distinct upswings. [...]]]> Five mood swings in one day!

I doubt that is a record, but it sure wears me out. In that past week, I’ve had at least 20 mood swings. They are mild, but certainly strong enough to chart. Yesterday I had three distinct upswings. The day before that, I had a few upswings and an intense hour long downswing where I immediately started crying. I’ve also been twitching a lot which means there is something not right with my Lamictal dose.

What is causing this rapid cycling? Though I’m glad it’s on the manic side instead of being constant depression, I know it’s not good for me. I can feel my adrenaline pumping and I feel like jumping out of my skin.  The chemicals are racing through my brain much faster than they normally do. I feel like talking to strangers

So, what’s going on?  I have to be a detective to figure this out. Here are my ideas:

The weather here in Portland, Oregon has been exceptionally beautiful and sunny. We had a dark summer, so this is fantastic. But it’s mania inducing.

I wrote about a guy thing that was happening at the coffee shop where I write that got me a bit flustered. Though the whole thing could be a manic fantasy in my mind.

My Lamictal isn’t working correctly.

I’m sure it’s a combination, but I’m leaning towards the Lamictal problem. This has happened to me in the past. I took some extra last night to see if I could calm down and stop the Lamictal twitching. I had to take Ativan to sleep.

I will keep you posted.

Julie

PS: If you would like more information on bipolar mania or rapid cycling, you can click on the buttons to your right.

Abilify is an [...]]]> I’ve been on both Abilify and Lamictal. Abilify if an antipsychotic used to treat psychotic bipolar symptoms as well as mania. Lamictal is a ‘mood stabilizer’ that’s actually an anticonvulsant drug used to treat bipolar depression. It’s not a drug used to manage mania. But, it does help people with rapid cycling.

Abilify is an atypical antipsychotic along with Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa. Atypical means the drugs are newer and have less side effects than the older ‘dirty’ drugs such as Thorazine and and Haldol.

I’m having some tough side effects with my Lamictal tonight and they remind me of what my friend Sherri went through when she was on Abilify.

We both had restlessness, leg pain, an uncomfortable body and trouble sleeping. This is called Akathisia.  Technically it’s an inability to sit down. Abilify is known to have this as a side effect, whereas my Lamictal problems tend to be from not having enough meds in my system. It’s all complicated and interrelated.

Abilify has been a miracle drug for many people. Lamictal has been a miracle for me- but akathisia is a tough side effect.

 I am such a fan of drugs, but I also know that we have a limit in terms of the side effect tolerance. I can handle my Lamictal side effects, Sherri ended the Abilify and went back on Zyprexa. Meds are completely individual. So, if you’re having trouble with one drug, there is a good chance you will find one that works. Never give up!

Julie

Julie, the is no reason a person can’t look great every single time they walk out the door.

She is right. I feel better if I look good.

So I threw [...]]]> I dress like a bum if I’m depressed- especially if I’ve gained weight. One day, my dear friend Janea said something I’ve never forgotten.

Julie, the is no reason a person can’t look great every single time they walk out the door.

She is right. I feel better if I look good.

So I threw out all of my junk clothes. Actually, I cut a lot of them up so my brother could use them as paint rags. Yes, they were that bad!

I now only have presentable clothes in my closet. And I always look good.  Anyone can get nice clothes on a budget- because as Janea also says:

You can dress inexpensively if you have good taste!

julie

http://www.juliefast.com/teleseminars.php

I always have a tough time when the weather gets dark- and I certainly have to have a plan to make sure the holidays are fun and not lonely and stressful! I hope you can join me when we talk about these issues!

 Julie

Some people are just hard to be around. They are snappy, opinionated, sarcastic, and sometimes mean. I have met them! It’s often a personality trait. This means they were born that way and will probably remain that well unless something or [...]]]> Testiness and Bipolar Disorder

Some people are just hard to be around. They are snappy, opinionated, sarcastic, and sometimes mean. I have met them! It’s often a personality trait. This means they were born that way and will probably remain that well unless something or someone pushes them to change. 

A personality trait is very different from a bipolar disorder symptom. People always say- “Julie, all of us must have a form of bipolar disorder.” I’m sure I’ve written about this in the blog- but there is a difference. All of us have certainly had bad moods where we are testy when someone even looks at us the wrong way. When a person has a testy personality they tend to be constant in their behavior. If you piss them off, they let you know and you can expect it. This is a good thing as you can then make the decision of you want to have them in your life.

Bipolar disorder testiness is 100% different because it’s episodic and often takes people by surprise. In other words, it’s not the person’s personality. It’s the product of an illness. This doesn’t excuse it! But it does offer an explanation. When I’m in an irritation downswing, a box that I trip on can get kicked across the room while I yell at it. Whereas when I’m in a stable mood, I can trip on a box and then just move it out of the way. This is not a personality trait.

When I’m in an irritation downswing, people are extremely irritating and I can’t believe how stupid they are! It goes on and on.

This was one of the first things the Health Cards taught me- people don’t like angry people and considering that bipolar makes you testy and easily pissed off – you had better learn to control it!

So I did. If you look at my anger/irritation Health Card you can see what I did. I still get in these moods and they are still bipolar disorder related, but they no longer wreck my relationships and people actually do want to be around me!

Julie